Thursday, 15 December 2016

Devil's Highway

Devil’s Highway is another(!) new novel from Simon Bestwick and is published by Snowbooks. It’s the
sequel to last year’s Hell’s Ditch and
is the second volume in the Black Road quartet of post-apocalyptic novels.

I reviewed Hell’s
Ditch here ending with the statement that I looked forward to the follow up
books so I was more than chuffed that I was offered an advance review copy of Devil’s Highway. I was also chuffed to
see that this second book in the series contains a brief re-cap of the events
of the first one – something I wish other publishers would do. Hell’s Ditch featured a huge cast of
characters in multiple plotlines so it was good to be reminded of who was who
and who did what… Dumbing down? Nope – the refresher acted almost like a teaser
trailer, setting the new book up very nicely.

So… what happened next?

Much of the narrative of Devil’s
Highway is taken up by a battle between the rebels and forces of the military
dictatorship running the country. This is, in effect, a siege of the rebel
stronghold, the location of which has been discovered, and is told at breakneck
speed from multiple viewpoints. It’s a technique, I have to say, that’s
difficult to cope with – the rapid changes in scenes, characters and viewpoints
is a lot to take in and led to a wee bit of confusion from time to time…

Which, of course, shows just how effective a technique it
is. Once I’d settled into the rhythm of the writing, I was put in mind of the
night-time bridge bombardment sequence in Apocalypse
Now, a confusing amalgam of noise and visuals in which no-one, characters
in the film and viewer alike seems to have any real idea of what’s happening.
Such is the impression I got with these opening scenes in Devil’s Highway, the fog of war recreated on the page to impressive
effect.

All of the characters who survived Hell’s Ditch return, Helen Damnation, Thereus Winterborn, Gevaudan
Shoal and all the others but there’s also the introduction of the Catchmen,
part human, part robot – relentless killing machines created by the Tindalos
Project. I loved the concept of the Catchmen – was put in mind of the old TV
programme The Nightmare Man, particularly
in the scenes involving a one-on-one combat between Helen and one of the
monsters. An army of the Catchmen is the military’s secret weapon, deployed to
devastating effect during the siege. The ability to reconstruct themselves even when
destroyed renders them virtually indestructible…

As the battle reaches a crucial moment, Simon make the bold
move to interrupt the action and begin a series of flashbacks, taking the story
back to the fall of the first bombs heralding the beginning of the nuclear
destruction.

A bold move, yes – but one which pays off handsomely. Here
we have the origins story of not just Helen but also other key characters
within the narrative. I loved these scenes, from the description of the bombs
hitting to the “oh my God” moments – of which there are many - in the
development of the characters. Context is everything and the whole series is,
I believe, strengthened by its inclusion here. It’s a grim read, conjuring up
images of the worst of mankind, and the horrors of previous conflicts with its
descriptions of extermination squads and mass graves. This part of the novel is
its strongest, a welcome break from the onslaught of the battle scenes and world-building
of the highest order.

Who lives? Who dies? These, and many more questions will be
answered within the pages of Devil’s
Highway as the battle ends and the survivors make plans for the future. The book fulfils the role of the
middle volume of a series admirably, progressing the narrative whilst setting
things up for the final instalment. The back-stories add an extra edge to the
inevitable showdowns and the introduction of a shadowy and mysterious character
raises the expectation of new horrors in prospect.

I look forward immensely to how the quartet of books will conclude,
can’t quite believe I’ll have to wait a year to do so…